YEREVAN, Armenia / AfricaWire.IO / – At the recent Leaders’ Summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on October 16, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning that more than one million species are at risk of extinction due to ongoing human-driven destruction of nature, risk of extinction. He called for immediate and decisive global measures to combat environmental decline ahead of the upcoming 17th UN Biodiversity Conference, COP17, taking place in Armenia from October 19 to 30. Guterres emphasized that such environmental devastation jeopardizes the future of life on Earth.
During his speech, the Secretary-General urged governments to increase their investments in solutions that protect ecosystems and stressed the importance of involving businesses and local communities more actively. He identified climate disruption, overgrazing, and the excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides as primary factors fueling the triple planetary crisis. The combined effects of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change are pushing the planet toward becoming uninhabitable, he warned, though he also stated this outcome is not inevitable.
Four years after nations adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Guterres pointed out that progress has been inconsistent and too slow. The 2022 agreement set a target to conserve 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030. Since then, almost 90% of parties have established national biodiversity targets, with over half creating national road maps. The Yerevan summit is seen as a pivotal moment for accountability at the halfway point of these commitments.
$30 spent on harm for every $1 on nature
Guterres highlighted a significant imbalance in global spending on nature. For every dollar invested in conservation efforts, $30 is allocated to activities that damage the environment. In 2023 alone, industries harmful to nature — including heavy industry, destructive agriculture, and fossil fuels — received a total of $7.3 trillion. He called on governments to end these subsidies permanently and mentioned the Cali Fund, which encourages companies benefitting from nature to contribute financially.
To meet biodiversity, climate, and land restoration targets, Guterres stated that an annual investment of $571 billion is needed by 2030, roughly 0.5% of global gross domestic product. Despite this, biodiversity financing remains below half of the $200 billion annual goal established under the framework. Heavy debt burdens, limited budgets, and an inequitable international financial system hinder developing countries from investing adequately in nature, he added.
Current commitments fall short of protecting 30% of land
Existing pledges are insufficient to reach the 30% conservation target. If all current promises are fulfilled, only 26% of terrestrial ecosystems and 12% of marine ecosystems would be protected by 2030. Since 2022, formal protections have expanded to include an additional 1.3 million square kilometres of land and 6 million square kilometres of ocean. Guterres urged nations to shift from policies that destroy nature toward those that sustain it.
He also called for broader engagement from youth, civil society, women, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities, stressing that environmental decline often impacts the most vulnerable groups the hardest. The Yerevan Declaration’s pledge to incorporate biodiversity into policies, budgets, and regulations was welcomed. Guterres emphasized that biodiversity issues are interconnected with conflict, food insecurity, disease, and climate change. The COP17 conference is set to begin in Yerevan on October 19.